Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of introduction of the physical computing strategy of Arduino Boards in a program design course on coding literacy and the effectiveness of the application in technical high school students. This study selected two classes of twelfth-grade students enrolled in a program design course at a technical high school in Southern Taiwan as the samples. One class was the control group (43 students), and the other was the experimental group (42 students). During the 18-week course, the control group carried out a DBL (design-based learning) programming project, and the experimental group carried out the DBL programming project using the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards. Pre- and posttests and a questionnaire survey were carried out, while ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) was used for evaluation purposes. In the course, students in the experimental group were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews to understand their learning status and to perform qualitative analysis and summarization. This study proposed the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards, featuring staged teaching content, practical teaching activities, and real themes and problem-solving tasks. The results show that the coding literacy of students in the different teaching strategy groups was significantly improved. However, in the Arduino course on DBL programming, the students in the experimental group had a significantly higher learning efficiency in coding literacy than those in the control group. Moreover, according to the qualitative analysis using student interviews, Arduino boards were found to improve students’ motivation to learn coding and to aid in systematically guiding students toward improving their coding literacy by combining their learning with DBL theory. Thus, Arduino technology can be effectively used to improve students’ programming abilities and their operational thinking in practically applying programming theories.
Highlights
Introduction of programmingUnit 1: A preliminary study on program 3
There is a global consensus that coding literacy, which is related to computer science, logical thinking, computational thinking, etc., needs to be cultivated in students
This study adopted the Design-based learning (DBL) teaching strategy, integrated the physical computing strategy of Arduino into the programming course, and employed an interesting project involving the design of a wearable pet device to provide students with an environment for the practical application of programming and opportunities to experience technology skills and information processing, with the aim of inspiring them to explore new ideas and perspectives
Summary
Introduction of programmingUnit 1: A preliminary study on program 3. The cultivation of information technology abilities has been an educational goal to which all countries in the world have attached importance. In 2016, the United States proposed the plan of Computer Science for All [1] and invested USD 4 billion to promote programming courses in seven of the largest school districts in the United States, with the aim of motivating students from kindergarten to high school to learn information science and to cultivate an ability to create a digital economy [2]. The American College Board introduced the AP Computer Science Principles for Advanced High School Computer Science Courses, which focuses on the application of information technology and programming problem-solving [3]. Many advanced developing countries around the world, including 15 countries in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and many others, have officially incorporated programming into their school curriculum. It is obvious that the cultivation of programming abilities has become one of the important indicators of all stages of education
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